Today In History

Today is Thursday, Nov. 12, the 317th day of 2020. There are 49 days left in the year.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT

› 1948: Former Japanese premier Hideki Tojo and several other World War II Japanese leaders were sentenced to death by a war crimes tribunal.

ON THIS DATE

› 1927: Josef Stalin became the undisputed ruler of the Soviet Union as Leon Trotsky was expelled from the Communist Party.

› 1929: Grace Kelly — the future movie star and Princess of Monaco — was born in Philadelphia.

› 1942: The World War II naval Battle of Guadalcanal began. (The Allies ended up winning a major victory over Japanese forces.)

› 1975: Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas retired because of failing health, ending a record 36-year term.

› 1977: The city of New Orleans elected its first Black mayor, Ernest “Dutch” Morial, the winner of a runoff.

› 1982: Yuri V. Andropov was elected to succeed the late Leonid I. Brezhnev as general secretary of the Soviet Communist Party’s Central Committee.

› 1994: Olympic track and field gold medalist Wilma Rudolph died in Brentwood, Tennessee, at age 54.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS

Singer Brian Hyland is 77. Actor-playwright Wallace Shawn is 77. Rock musician Booker T. Jones (Booker T. & the MGs) is 76. Sportscaster Al Michaels is

76. Singer-songwriter Neil Young is 75. Rock musician Donald “Buck Dharma” Roeser (Blue Oyster Cult) is 73. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., is 71. Country/gospel singer Barbara Fairchild is 70. Actor Megan Mullally is

62. Actor Vincent Irizarry is 61. Olympic gold medal gymnast Nadia Comaneci is 59. Rock musician David Ellefson is 56. Retired MLB All-Star Sammy Sosa is 52. Figure skater Tonya Harding is

50. Actor Rebecca Wisocky is 49. Actor Radha Mitchell is 47. Actor Angela Watson is 46. Singer Tevin Campbell is 44. Actor Ashley Williams is 42. Actor Cote de Pablo is 41. Actor Ryan Gosling is 40. Contemporary Christian musician Chris Huffman is 40. Actor Anne Hathaway is

38. Pop singer Omarion is

36. NBA All-Star Russell Westbrook is 32. Folkrock musician Griffin Goldsmith (Dawes) is 30. Actor Macey Cruthird is 28.